As Canada’s largest dedicated child- and youth-serving organization, we understand the importance of youth development and creating environments that foster resilience in young people. 

R2 isn’t a program, it’s an approach 

If you’ve seen one Club, you’ve seen one Club. BGC Canada has more than 600 locations across the country, and each operates differently to meet the unique needs of their communities. 

Rather than a program with a structure involving steps, timelines, and activities, R2 is an approach: guiding principles and ways of thinking that inform how Club staff work with youth. Because of this, R2 can be weaved into BGC Club’s existing work with youth—making it flexible for each Club to adapt into their daily operations, whatever that looks like. 

A curriculum specifically designed for BGC Clubs 

We’re thrilled to collaborate with Dr. Michael Ungar and his team at the Resilience Research Centre’s Evaluation and Training Institute to customize an R2 curriculum to support youth who walk through Club doors. 

Social work scholar, family therapist, and global expert on resilience, Dr. Ungar has shifted how we understand the challenges faced by young people—helping us adapt how we approach those at risk of educational disengagement. With his support, we’ve given Club staff practical tools to foster stronger relationships with youth—something BGC Clubs are already great at doing. 

The training session included collaborative, hands-on activities and engaging conversations that linked our impact on the well-being of youth through BGC Canada’s Learning & Impact data. Club staff left the session with tangible resources and tips to help them apply R2 to foster youth resiliency.

We’re grateful for our partnerships with The Keg Spirit Foundation and The McCall MacBain Foundation, who made the resources for this program possible. With their support, BGC Clubs across the country are better equipped to address the mental health needs of their communities. 

By Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada

September 12, 2024

Social engagement for young people has an enormously outsized impact on their mental well-being, and that’s what BGC Clubs are about.

BGC Clubs are a safe place that supports kids through back-to-school transitions and other mental health concerns. Our Clubs are often referred to as a ‘third place’—somewhere outside of school and home—where kids can just be kids while also getting the support they need to succeed in their academics, passions, and interests. Clubs help through mental health-focused programming and meaningful relationships with friends and staff—still, it’s not enough.

Related: BGC Clubs provide kids with basic needs to they can have brighter futures.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to present at the Mental Health Roundtable hosted by the Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Ya’ara Saks. The roundtable was attended by a variety of youth-serving organizations, and it was particularly encouraging to hear several other organizations – including the Minister herself – speak of the collaborative work with local BGC Clubs and the support we provide to young people.

The purpose of the Roundtable was a consultation on how the government should be spending and allocating the $500 million Youth Mental Health Fund that was announced in the budget earlier this year. One of my key messages was that we don’t need to spend time on innovating new approaches – we need to scale what works, today.

As we look at this Canadian investment in mental health, we see that the benefits of youth clubs around the world are vital to the same issues. As a new government takes office in the UK, The Guardian reported that there was significant de-investment in youth clubs during the former Tory government, and it has had huge impacts. An older article from The Guardian also noted that the closures were increasing youth violence. There is hope that the new Labour government under prime minister Keir Starmer will reinvest in these vital organizations.

Social wealth is mental health – meaning that social engagement for young people has an enormously outsized impact on their mental well-being, and that’s what BGC Clubs are about.

Because of a Club, 95% of members have more people they like to spend time with. By providing a safe third place, Clubs are making a difference—a big one.

Read more: 

• BGC Clubs provide job opportunities for young people
• Young people deserve a safe space to explore and express their identity
• Poverty in Canada: The Kid Made It

April 17, 2024

The federal budget tabled yesterday makes progress towards tackling youth mental health, employment, and poverty. As Canada’s largest dedicated child and youth serving charity, BGC Canada applauds these investments and looks forward to working with government to implement them.

BGC Canada is increasingly concerned by rising inequalities among youth. Our Clubs report increased demand for food supports, amid a cost-of-living crisis. We see increased mental health struggles from the youth we work with, amidst ongoing concerns about the impact of social media use on youth mental health. Latest data from Statistics Canada suggests that the youth employment rate has been dropping steadily, meaning that youth are not getting the first jobs they need to launch their careers.

“For this budget, we called for significant investments in children and youth,” says Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada. “Young people and their families continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, and this budget will help them get by while also creating national programs that will benefit generations to come. We are excited to partner with all levels of government to expand the Canada Wide Early Learning and Childcare system, implement a national school food program, and support youth mental health and employment.”

Highlights from Budget 2024 include:

• Renewed funding for youth employment and skills development, including through Canada Summer Jobs, the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, the Student Support for Learning Program, and CanCode 
• $500M for a new youth mental health fund 
• $52M in new funding to keep youth safe online
• $1B in funding for a national school food program 
• $15M for support community sport programming
• Significant funding for new childcare spaces, and for a workforce program for the sector

About BGC Canada 

For 125 years, BGC Canada has been creating opportunities for millions of Canadian kids and teens. As Canada’s largest child and youth serving charitable organization, our Clubs open their doors to young people and their families at more than 600 locations nationwide. During out-of-school hours in small and large cities, and rural and Indigenous communities, our trained staff and volunteers provide programs and services that help young people realize positive outcomes in self-expression, academics, healthy living, physical activity, job readiness, mental health, leadership, and more.